Animal Nest Blamed For Power Outage That Affected Almost 300 Customers

GENEVA, IL — Almost 300 residences and businesses on Geneva's west side lost power Sunday, and an animal nest is to blame, city officials said Tuesday afternoon.

The service disruption began at 5:48 p.m. when a nest came into contact with an electric line. It impacted customers along Anderson Boulevard and Richards Street to the north; James and Campbell streets along Seventh to South streets; Linden Court; and the 500 block of Western Avenue, according to a news release.

After Geneva Public Works crews switched the energy load to an alternate source, service was restored to about 77 percent of customers by 6:51 p.m. Another 65 customers had power back at 7:19 p.m., and the final customer had electricity again at 7:57 p.m.

Officials recommend Geneva residents report after-hour and weekend power outages to the Geneva police, who will then dispatch Public Works staff to respond to the incident. The city's online request tracker system and social media accounts are not monitored 24 hours a day.